Kyodai
by Mibu no Ame
Summary: The Higashidani family caught up in the changing tides of the Meiji. Implied SaitohxSanosuke that might later become more than implied. Comments, anyone?
1. Default Chapter

Kyodai --- Brothers --- Chapter One 

With a quality of stealth he never knew he had, Outa quickly ran from one small window to another, peering carefully behind the woven grass blinds, his eyes huge in wariness and excitement.  Uki was nowhere to be found.  Out in the fields, he could see his father, back bent to the task of tending to the growing daikon.

Satisfied he would not be disturbed, he ran to the small wooden chest that held his sister's treasures.  They were pitifully few, mostly the few things their mother's death passed into Uki's possession by virtue of being the only daughter, but the fact she had been his mother, too, did not alter the wrongness of what he was about to do.  Outa carefully lifted the lid and quickly found the sole reason for his indiscretion.

Holding the tiny mirror up, he looked closely at his own reflection.  Short fingers combed through his brown hair and pulled upward, stopping just short of the strands slipping through.

Otosan had told him… about the stranger with the symbol for 'bad' loudly proclaimed on his back; his blood red headband the only color, contrasting sharply with the white of the gi and wrappings.  The tall, spike-haired fighter who had come from out of nowhere to protect them was his brother.

Sanosuke… oniisan…

Outa let the hair fall back into place and continued to gaze into the mirror.  He loved Uki.  She was more than his sister.  She was the mother he had never truly known, and with their father, he had been happy to bask in their attention.  Not so much as the teasing and jeering from the other village children could free him from his cocoon of contentment. Only the stinging words of reprisal from a hero-turned-brother had been able to shake him loose from false illusion.

A shadow fell across the floor beside Outa.

"I hate to think what onesan is going to do when she finds out you've been into her things."

Outa could not say what frightened him most… the sudden appearance of his father or the potential wrath of his elder sister.  Fear of either did not trouble him so much as what his oniisan thought of him.

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Uki stood in the doorway, drying her hands on an apron.  "What's got into Outa?  When did he decide to become a farmer?"

In the distant field beyond, Outa could be seen amidst the dark green of the daikon.  His actions were uncoordinated and graceless, mimicking what he had seen his father and the other farmers doing for longer than he could remember, but no one… certainly not his father… could fault him for his determination.

"I don't think it's a matter of deciding to become a farmer," Higashidani informed his daughter as he sat grinding the edge of his hoe.  He looked up to watch his youngest son, feeling a pang of loss.  "He wants to be stronger."

"Stronger?  But he's only six years old!"

"He's a boy.  And he's a Higashidani."

"Oh, no, otosan… no, you don't!"  Uki pulled the apron from around her waist and tossed it into the house.  She started for the field only to feel herself jerked back by the hold of her father's strong hand on her arm.

"Uki, listen… "

"No!  That's a baby out there!  He doesn't need to be wearing himself out and die young!"

"That's the point I want to make!"

"So let go of me and let me talk some sense into him!" When her arm was not released, understanding dawned as she looked at the pained look in the strong face.  "That trip you made a couple of weeks ago… this has something to do with Sanosuke, doesn't it."

Higashidani pulled on his daughter's arm, urging Uki to sit beside him.  She resisted… just like her mother, Higashidani thought to himself.  No… just like him, once he thought a little longer, and realized the girl was growing up to be nothing like Naname at all.  There was nothing reserved or withdrawn about Uki.  She was independent and tough, full of fighting spirit like her father… like the elder brother she had once adored.  He held no fears where she was concerned.

About Outa, however… his youngest had never had a chance to prove his bloodline.  He never would if Higashidani didn't do something about it now.

Uki had had no choice, forced to act as a mother and desperate to prevent the past from ever happening again.  Sanosuke had never been under her control, free to walk out of her life and break her heart.  She couldn't help being determined to make certain Outa never would.

And he wouldn't.  This time it would be her father who would break her heart and leave her bereft.

"Uki… I'm sending Outa to Sanosuke."

"Otosan!  You can't!"  Uki pulled with all her strength, reaction making her stronger.  "Sanosuke's a kenkaya!  He knows nothing about raising a child!"  She slapped at the hand grasping her tightly, pounding on the thick forearm.  "Otosan, no!  He's just a little boy!"

Prepared for her fight, Higashidani stood and picked Uki up.  He stepped into the small house, set her down roughly, and dropped the grass shade over the doorway with a quick tug.

"Yes!  He's a little boy!  Little boys need men to guide them if they're to become men themselves!"  He saw Uki valiantly struggle to keep her tears of anger from falling, wished he could just take her in his arms and comfort her, but that had never been the way to deal with her.  "Uki, I'm too busy to give him what he needs."

"That's no reason to send him to Tokyo… into a world that'll get him killed quicker than the fields!  Kami-sama, otosan!  The streets?  You're condemning Outa to misery!"

"No, Uki," Higashidani sadly replied.  "Keeping him here would be condemning him.  There's no future here if he stays."

"Where's food going to come from if not by the hands of farmers?  How can you say that?"

"Things are changing, Uki.  Outa has choices I… or even you and Sanosuke… never had.  Being a farmer may not be what's best for him.  Even if he does decide to work the land, it won't be done the same way.  He needs an education.  He needs the opportunities waiting for him in Tokyo."

"With a street fighter… a man who makes his living beating up people?"

"That's not what Sanosuke does, Uki… at least, not anymore.  He's not what you think."

Uki stared at her father, disbelieving.  Heavy tears dropped and burned a path down her cheeks.  She nodded her head with the certain thought in her head, that her father would naturally forgive the prodigal eldest son of all wrongs, proud, stupid man that he was.

"You've always been thick-headed, otosan, but I never thought you were a fool."

Higashidani watched his little girl storm out of the house.  He had been unable to prevent fate from being cruel to her or to Sanosuke.  Outa was still young… young enough for him to intervene.  There really was no other choice.

For now, it was best to let Uki run, let her cry… no choice there, either.  Eventually, she would find her way home, tears dried, heart hardened against him.  One day, she might understand.

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Footnotes:  Family relationships made even more complex:  otosan = father; oniisan = older brother; ototo = younger brother; onesan = older sister; imoto = younger sister.  Remember that?

My other story, "Seishunjidai no Tsuma," depends on information that I have to wade through and sometimes ask others for clarifications (which is what has happened with the next chapter), so this one keeps me occupied in those in-between times.  I have always wanted to write a story about Sanosuke and Outa.

Mibu no Ame


	2. Chapter Two

Kyodai --- Brothers --- Chapter Two 

Sanosuke sat cross-legged on the porch at the back of the small house.  Restless fingers traced the grain of the wood planks and traveled the length of the grooves between them.  Head propped in the palm of his other hand, he sighed.

"You're really okay with this?"

His companion folded the newspaper he had been reading and removed the cigarette from his mouth to flick the ash.

"Someone has to make sure Higashidani isn't cursed with two morons for sons," Saitoh answered.

"Creep."

Saitoh noted the despondency in the tone, surprised after so much enthusiasm during the week's preparations.  "After all you've done, don't tell me you're having second thoughts."

"I guess it just came to me that you might not like having a little boy running around."  Sanosuke shrugged.  "Like I might've gotten carried away at the idea of getting to know my little brother."

Butting the last of his cigarette in a nearby bowl, Saitoh got up and sat behind Sanosuke.  He pressed his long fingers into the hollows at either side of Sanosuke's spine and rubbed soothingly.  His smile was lost in the soft locks of hair as Sanosuke tilted his head back at the pleasure.

"Whenever I go home to Tokio, one of my greatest pleasures is to look outside the window," he told Sanosuke.  "Two natural sons, an adopted son, and a foster son… the joy on their faces when they play together assures me we were right to collect such a menagerie.  They rely on each other for so much.  How could I deny you the chance to do something for Outa?"

Sanosuke leaned back farther, until he could see Saitoh's face.  "Raising a child wasn't part of the bargain when you invited me to live with you."

"I don't recall it being a prohibition, either."

"And it's not like I'm the one able to afford it."

"One little boy is not going to break me."

"You might want to rethink that.  He's a Higashidani, after all."

"Then he'll learn to like soba or starve."

"One taste of Jo-chan's cooking and he'll be begging you to make him soba."

Saitoh took a handful of hair and pulled Sanosuke's head back to fall against his shoulder.  His look feigned malevolence.  "Was it the Greeks or the Trojans who said, 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'?"

"How the hell should I know?  Ask Outa in a few years.  He's the one who'll be goin' to school."

"My point is, ahou, that you should be nice to the Kamiya girl.  She's asking precious little from you for training him."

Wriggling free, Sanosuke sat up and resumed his fascination with the streaks in the wood floor.  "Don't think she won't let me forget it, either."

"Only when you do something stupid… like prejudicing Outa against her."

"I wouldn't do that.  He's gonna need her… and not just as a sensei.  It's gonna be hard on him.  Uki's care is all he's ever known."

"Don't become like your sister and coddle him.  He'll quickly understand he hasn't really lost anything and see how much more he's gained.  It's not like he's come from the horror of seeing his family killed, like Eiji did."

"Eiji's different.  He's older than Outa."

"Six or ten, they're still boys… still children."  A sadness touched Saitoh's heart, remembrance of the tearful night Sanosuke had told him about himself, about his past.  Affection and pride swelled, causing Saitoh to caress a still boyishly soft cheek.  "It isn't as though either one of them has had to face what you did."

"And I don't want them to.  No child should go through what I did… or Yahiko, for that matter.  That's why this is so important to me."  Sanosuke drew his legs up and braced them within the circle of his arms.  "It's more than that, though.  Outa has a chance at the future Sagara Taichou envisioned for me.  I'd like to think I'm honoring his faith in me by giving it to my brother."

"It's my way of honoring his memory… of thanking him for what he was able to do for you… that I want to help.  Having Outa here is hardly a sacrifice to compare to his."

"But it's still a lot to ask of you.  Your own sons should be here… not a day's ride away." 

"Someday, maybe they will.  At the very least, we will have them here to visit.  Even the indestructible Tokio needs a vacation now and then."

Rising suddenly, Sanosuke turned his idle attention to the wood of the porch posts, trying to imagine what it would be like to have them all together… Tomu, Yoshi, Tatsuo, Eiji, and Outa.  He smiled as he turned to watch Saitoh stand as well.  None of them, including himself, could be more fortunate than to have Saitoh Hajime, the incorruptible Wolf of Mibu, as their benefactor, teacher, and role model.

"You gotta start looking for a bigger house, man.  I mean, how are we going to fit five boys into this place?"

"Five, moron?"  Saitoh gave a shove that sent Sanosuke stumbling down the porch ahead of him.  "You mean six."

Turning, Sanosuke grinned.  "Better make that seven."

+++++

Footnotes:  Saitoh's third son, Tatsuo, was adopted, apparently the last in a line of an old Aizu family that Tokio or Saitoh or both knew.  They kept the truth of his true parentage a secret until he was in college (even then, I think it was a relative from his natural family that told him), raising him from infancy as one of their own.  Sweet.


	3. Chapter Three

I keep forgetting to put this in… 

Disclaimer:  The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Kyodai --- Brothers --- Chapter Three 

"Be a good boy for Sanosuke and Fujita-san.  Okay, Outa?"  Uki knelt before her beloved ototo, straightening a kimono that didn't need straightening, determined not to let a single tear fall.  "Listen to everything Kaoru-dono tells you.  I know you'll make me proud."

Outa gave his onesan a big hug, too excited at the prospect of his first journey to prolong it.  He gave her a quick kiss, then ran to join his father.

"Are you ready to go to Tokyo, Outa?" Higashidani asked to the little face peering up at him.  He smiled at the eager nodding that answered him.  The smile vanished as he looked up to see Uki disappear into the house, her back to him physically and spiritually.  There would be a silent reunion after the silence of the return trip home alone.  "Okay, then," he perked up, "let's get started."

Faces peered out of windows, through grass blinds pushed aside, from behind crops lush with maturity and care as father and son made their way for the main road.

"Well, if it isn't our little Outa off to make his fortune in the big city!"

"Good luck, Outa!"

"Safe journey!"

"Don't forget to come back and see us!"

"Hey!  Higashidani!  On your way back, there's a place I know… "  A yelp followed Goemon's being yanked back into the farmhouse.  His wife's angry, clipped words were thankfully indistinguishable.

"The whole village is happy for you, Outa," Higashidani said when the last house was behind them.

"Uki's not."

"Yes, she is.  Deep down inside that heart of hers, she's happy.  It's just hard for her to say good-bye.  Before you were born… when she was a little girl about your age… she had to say good-bye to Sanosuke, too."

"She doesn't like Sanosuke."

"She's just mad at him.  He never came back to see her.  That's why it's important that you come back and visit sometimes."

"Did oniisan go to Tokyo to go to school, too?"

"Not exactly.  There were things happening back when Sanosuke left home that you'll understand better when you get older.  Sanosuke left to join a man named Sagara Souzou."

"Sagara!  Like Sanosuke's name?"

"Exactly like Sanosuke's name."

"But if he's my brother… why isn't his name Higashidani like ours?"

"Well… that's a long story.  You see, Sagara Souzou was very important to your oniisan.  He taught him all kinds of things… things he couldn't learn here.  Just like you're going to Tokyo to learn.  But then, Sagara was killed… "

"Killed?!"

He would never forget the day the news reached him.  One of the villagers, just back from visiting his sister in another village, had pulled Higashidani out of the warmth of the house and into the chill of an early March morning to tell him quietly of the fate of the Sekihoutai.  Of the son he had lost to the hopes and dreams of an idealist… there was no reason to hope Sanosuke had survived.

His first reaction had crushed his spirit and squeezed his heart until he had felt it as a choking lump in his throat.  Memories of a spirited boy, discontent with his lot in life, as much of a dreamer as the hero he had run to, had rushed to fill Higashidani's head and blind him as certainly as the tears had flooded his eyes.  Then had come the anger, much more personal than that of the other villagers, towards a man who had lied.  Far worse than any promises of money burdens being lifted, Sagara had deceived an impressionable boy, given Sanosuke hope for a future that was not his to give, and then gotten him killed.

Higashidani sighed and looked down at Outa, who still expected an explanation.  It did not matter that more than ten years had passed since then… that Sanosuke had survived… that it had been the Imperialists who had lied.  Sagara had still stolen a man's most prized treasure… his first-born son.

"Ask your oniisan about him," not trusting his ability to either tell the story straight or with a steady voice.

"Okay, otosan."

"Later, Outa… not the moment you see him, okay?"  

For Sanosuke, the memories were very different, and still very close to the surface.  It was going to be difficult enough adjusting to the responsibility of being an older brother without Outa's new curiosity about a dead mentor being thrust into his face as greeting.  And, as long as Sanosuke continued to live in that world of ten years ago…

Higashidani remembered what he had told Sanosuke, just before they had parted ways after their eventful reunion… 'A man grows up looking at the back of the man in front of him. You've been watching the backs of some good men.'  He laughed to himself, at how much he could never have guessed at.  Sanosuke hadn't just been watching the backs of men.  He had been participating in history.

Had it been only three weeks ago when he had traveled down this road and into his eldest son's world?

+++++

_Higashidani paused in the street before the house he had been told to look for.  He had not expected it to be easy to find his son… Tokyo was like a thousand Shinshuu villages put together… but it had been easier than expected.  No one seemed to know Sagara Sanosuke, but plenty of people… too many?… knew of a fighter who wore a white gi with the aku kanji on his back._

_Zanza._

_The kid had a reputation, if the looks on the faces had told him true.  So, that bastard, Tani, knew what he was crying about.  Higashidani smiled in satisfaction, allowing himself a small measure of fatherly pride.  Sanosuke might carry Sagara Souzou's name, but his blood was pure Higashidani._

_From among the children on the streets, however, his son seemed to have developed quite a following.  At questions of Zanza, their faces had lit up and they had bounced in their steps as they led him to the boarding houses of Ruffians' Row, telling him of Zanza's fearlessness, his strength.  They had nothing to fear from him.  He was their protector.  He was their friend._

_"Nope.  He hasn't been around for quite some time," the landlord had told Higashidani.  "Started hanging around with some red-headed little swordsman.  Can't be up to any good.  A nasty-lookin' cop hung around here for a while, then both he and Zanza disappeared sudden-like.  Haven't seen the redhead, either.  There's an artist friend who comes around to pay his rent, though.  You might try him."_

_"I know where Tsukioka lives," a little boy had piped up.  "Come on!  I'll take you to him."_

_Countless streets later, Higashidani had found himself staring into surprised green eyes.  "What do you want with Zanza?" Tsukioka had warily asked._

_"He's my son… Sagara Sanosuke."_

_Higashidani hadn't known what to make of the grin that had quickly broken into a smile.  Nor the amused tone in the comment, "So you're Sano's father."_

_His experience with artists was non-existent, and for the life of him, Higashidani could not imagine how his son could have come into contact with one, especially one willing to pay his rent.  From all he had ever heard, artists were illusive and bad-tempered, preferring to live in the floating world they created, perpetually broke.  Surely the only reason for this one's generosity lay in Sanosuke's skill as a kenkaya._

_Whatever the reason and no matter the strangeness of an artist's life, Higashidani had trusted the man not to lead him astray.  He would find his son here._

_It was a simple house, but luxurious by comparison to anything Higashidani had ever known.  Tani's hastily built mansion was mere trash against the time-honored traditions of wood and tile and straight lines that gave this house utter beauty.  Nestled in a small copse of trees, he could imagine the cool, pine-scented breezes that would flow through open shoji, bringing rest to body and mind._

_Like music draws the listener, the thought of being cool and refreshed pushed Higashidani towards the doorway.  He rapped loudly on the wood and waited anxiously._

_The shoji opened._

_"Dad?"_

+++++

**Footnotes**:  Higashidani's quote about watching the backs of good men comes from the manga (obviously… I wish they had brought Sanosuke's family into the anime), Volume 26 – A Man's Back 7, Chapter 234 – The Back Speaks, as translated by Maigo-chan.

Ukiyo-e, from which nishiki-e was derived, were pictures of the "floating world."  They are the woodblock print images from which we derive so much of our view of the Edo (and earlier) periods and associate with Japanese art.  Nishiki-e, which Katsu becomes famous for, came about as a means to produce prints very quickly (a result of a race among publishers to get calendars out before the others).  The lives of ukiyo-e artists were difficult at best and more often than not they were destitute.  I hope soon to write a story about Katsu's life as an artist.

There is a house that I like to think of Saitoh and Sanosuke living in.  It was Lafcadio Hearn's (also known as Yakumo) summer house, and while it was not built in Tokyo, I transplanted it there.  If you are curious to see a house built in 1868 that was typical of what we think of as middle class (possibly on the upper end), do a Google search using "summering house of Lafcadio Hearn" (include the quotation marks).  The first site should take you directly to the house.  While you are there, check out the other Meiji buildings located on the Meijimura museum grounds.  If you just **have** to see it and can't get there, contact me and I will send the URL (be sure I have an email address to send it to).

Mibu no Ame


End file.
